So off hand, at least Case and Rochester seem worth looking into further because they may offer enough stackable merit to get you within budget. I’d probably consider RIT too. A quick check suggest Lehigh does not stack merit, so maybe not them.
I note that while Rochester, NY, is technically not Midwest, I think culturally it actually has a lot of commonality with other Great Lakes metros. It is about 600 miles from Chicago, there are competing nonstop flights (United and American), and there is actually also a train, the Lake Shore Limited, an overnight each way:
And that real estate that they own, beyond their primary residence, is going to torpedo your fin aid. If you have a family that owns a few rentals, and lives off the income from the rentals, schools expect them to sell or mortgage the rentals, which would leave them without an income to live on. It’s like asking a farmer to sell his land. It is not like asking a family with an income of 90K and an inherited vacation home to sell or mortgage the 2nd home, since they’d still have their income from their jobs to live on.
For this reason, children of professionals and business people often are choosing their in-state flagship, because it’s their best deal, will cost them <40K as opposed to 90K.
I agree that the in state flagship is the probably the best option. However, I think OP is looking for other options that would be a match/target in case UIUC is a no. It’s very competitive for MechE there.
Yes, he’s got to make an in-state public academic safety option that has mech E, because from what he’s describing, it sounds as if that is his only financial safety.
CMU doesn’t charge out of state tuition so he can look there.
And Alabama, UAH, and Missisippi State (not in his geographical preference but all “bigger names” which he may be seeking) - are all assured sub $20K with automerit.
I believe someone else, maybe @Bill_Marsh, recommended Milwaukee School of Engineering as a financial safety - so OP might look into that too…not sure if it was assured cost wise though.
Yes, but Illinois public schools have programs such as Illinois Commitment and Illinois Promise that can cover tuition and room and board for Illinois residents whose parent’s income is below a certain threshold. Possibly making it much more affordable than any OOS schools.
I think normally the families who get a significant reduction in aid due to the parents owning rental properties also have other income and assets, so the expectation is not necessarily that the parents will have to liquidate the rental properties.
If your family is actually in a situation where rental properties are your only source of income and only major financial assets, I would think about going to some colleges to see if you could work something out, at least if their offer was somewhat close. Assuming the offer did not already reflect an accommodation for that situation (as it might at some colleges).
A $17K SAI (so, not Pell Eligible) will not qualify for Illinois Promise.
For Illinois Commitment, both Income and assets have to be under $75K, and OP said above their income is about $90K, so it seems OP does not qualify. That would also be consistent w/ CWRU’s $30K NPC result. Illinois Commitment – Office of Student Financial Aid
Illinois schools might still be most affordable though (perhaps OP lives within commuting distance of one of them), but OP should follow up on the many good suggestions others have made above.